climate change – Duane Morris TechLaw

February 1, 2017February 1, 2017 by Eric J. Sinrod

Protection of Climate Change Data

The vast majority of scientists who have studied the issue have concluded that global warming is happening and that such warming has been caused to a large extent by humans. For that reason, not long ago, many countries signed onto the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in an effort to deal with this threat to life on the planet.

However, there is concern that plans to deal with global warming may be halted. Why? Because it appears that President Trump is bringing into US government people who reportedly have expressed doubt about climate change, or at least who have been in favor of less environmental regulations for businesses. Indeed, according to a recent report by Public Radio International, a Trump transition team member has said that new studies and data by EPA scientists will be put on hold.

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April 12, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Children May Proceed With Climate Change Case, Federal Judge Rules

What are we going to do about climate change? Can government get the job done to protect us? Well, some children do not believe so, and they have taken the matter to federal court. Indeed, a federal magistrate has just ruled that their climate change lawsuit may proceed.

Thomas Coffin, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the federal district court in Eugene, Oregon, has ruled in the case Juliana v. United States, that a climate change lawsuit, brought by twenty-one youth from the ages of 8 to 19 years-old, may proceed. The lawsuit specifically asserts that the federal government of the United States is in violation of their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property by allowing and supporting ongoing production and combustion of fossil fuels.

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March 17, 2015May 20, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Fla. Agency Bans the Words ‘Climate Change.’ Really?

It’s baaaack. Florida, that wacky state that brought us hanging chads and other irregularities during the 2000 Bush v. Gore presidential election, has returned full force with some new controversy.

Indeed, while the great weight of scientific evidence has persuaded the vast majority of scientists skilled in the field that global warming is real and a looming danger for the planet, government officials at the primary environmental agency in Florida have been prohibited from using the words “climate change,” according to Time.com.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued an unwritten directive to not use the words “climate change” or “global warming” in official reports and communications, claims the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting (FCIR).

Christopher Byrd, an attorney in the DEP’s Office of General Counsel from 2008 to 2013, informed FCIR that “[w]e were told not to use the terms climate change, global warming or sustainability,” and that “that message was communicated to me and my colleagues by our superiors in the Office of General Counsel.”

Moreover, additional former DEP personnel reportedly told the FCIR that this unwritten directive was put in place after Rick Scott, who has rejected the argument that climate change has been caused by humans, took the helm as the governor of Florida in 2011. Continue reading “Fla. Agency Bans the Words ‘Climate Change.’ Really?”